VAANI

Reena’s Bollywood Dream by Jewel Kats is a thought provoking book. The story is made stronger by the the simplicity of the words used to describe horrendous childhood experience of abuse.

Reena the main character tells her own story and that makes it easier for children to identify and understand the significance of the issue. Jewel has perfectly managed to bring out the strong emotions of the child character even in the restrictive space of a picture book. Her efforts to raise awareness among young people is commendable and there’s no better medium then a picture book.

On the other hand Richa Kinra amazes the readers with her beautiful illustrations through out the book that enhances the story written by Jewel. The visual aid provided in the book by the talented Richa are immensely enjoyable and even though the theme is serious the pictures act as the positive harness for the story.

It would have been great if there was a little bit more on the feelings and emotions of a child after the incident.

Both Jewel and Richa have done a fantastic job of bringing up this tabooed issue and talking about it in a sensitive way as well as giving advice on how to deal with it. A must read for all young people and also adults as they need to know what a child could go through and also that they should trust their child more.